"Embarrassing for everyone involved" - Tennis fans express annoyance with pickleball after latest event
Tennis fans have been vehemently protesting the growing importance being given to pickleball in recent months, particularly in the United States. And with the latest Pickleball Slam event, the protests have intensified even further.
The Pickleball Slam saw American tennis legends Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, John McEnroe and Michael Chang battle it out over three matches. The event, broadcast on ESPN, took place at the same time as the 2023 Miami Open final between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev on Sunday (April 2).
Tennis fans took to Twitter to mark their annoyance at the growing support the paddle sport is receiving from within the tennis world itself. Bastien Fachan, author of the book 'Big Three,' made his views clear, tweeting:
"Embarrassing for everyone involved."
: 2023 @pickleballslam on ESPNEmbarrassing for everyone involved twitter.com/espn/status/16…
Another fan urged ESPN to divert attention from pickleball back to tennis, claiming that the latter currently has "growing storylines."
"Please pour some of this attention and energy back into tennis. The sport is filled with growing storylines right now and your platform obviously has the reach to amplify them," they wrote.
@espn @pickleballslam Please pour some of this attention and energy back into tennis. The sport is filled with growing storylines right now and your platform obviously has the reach to amplify them. 🙂🎾
Here are a few more fan reactions to the growing popularity of pickleball:
this is what people play at the retirement home please give it up twitter.com/espn/status/16…
@espn @pickleballslam Stanton just hit a ball 485 feet and you post pickleball
For what it’s worth: Sure, play pickleball. Play ANYTHING. But watching pickleball on TV or in an arena? Watching tennis is watching Beyoncé. Watching pickleball is watching karaoke. twitter.com/espn/status/16…
This is embarrassing twitter.com/espn/status/16…
This is embarrassing. And for ESPN to show this and former big tennis players to do this AT THE SAME TIME as a Miami Open final when they know tennis is having issues with viewership? Shameful twitter.com/espn/status/16…
there was a time when ESPN showcased the Miami Open finals… now here we are twitter.com/espn/status/16…
twitter.com/espn/status/16…why are they pushing pickeball so badly who’s behind this how much are they getting paid 😭 twitter.com/espn/status/16…
this embarrassing to air this on ESPN twitter.com/espn/status/16…
"Tennis and pickleball don't have to be competitors" - Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi, who took part in the latest Pickleball Slam event, recently opined that tennis and pickleball do not have to compete with each other. The American legend suggested a mutual co-existence instead.
While reinforcing his preference for tennis, Agassi claimed that playing other racquet sports can be a "really fun thing."
"Tennis and pickleball don't have to be competitors. We're really not. I'm biased [towards] tennis because it's given me my livelihood, but transferring tennis skills to other racquet sports can be a really fun thing to do," Agassi said.
The eight-time Grand Slam champion also noted some differences between the two sports, calling pickleball the "antithesis" of tennis.
"I would say [pickleball] is very unique in that it's the antithesis of tennis in so many ways. In pickleball, you have to let the ball come to you; rather, you go to it in many instances. Those adjustments can be challenging and fun," he added.
In the Pickleball Slam event, Agassi lost to John McEnroe in the singles match (15-13, 16-14). However, he made up for it in the doubles, partnering with Roddick to outclass the pairing of McEnroe and Chang (21-15, 21-23, 12-10).